Starting From Scratch

[tgrschank]

I am very very new and hound hunting. So new, that I've never done it. I love predator hunting and trying to find out everything I can about hound hunting before I invest time and money into it. I love doing things on my own so I am planning on buying a pup and training it from the beginning. I don't have the money to buy a finished dog. I know it will take lots of time and patients What advise do you guys have for someone who wants to start from scratch?

The advise I have gained with my research the last couple months is listed below

1) Gain the pups trust and become his friend
2) Teach basic obedience
3) Start training very slow, and make it a game.
4) Don't over work the pup

Thats what I got for starting a pup. Any changes or advice would be awesome!

[Old dog]

what do you plan on hunting with you're prospect? coons are pretty easy with a natural pup of most any breed then you could switch to other game maybe. by the way,,do we call you tiger? or chank?

[tgrschank]

Haha TGR stands for team goose reapers. Me and a couple buddies did a ton of goose hunting while living in Idaho going to school. Schank is my last name. But I'm looking to chase lions and bobcats. Not many coons in my part of the state!

[Nolte]

Equipment wise. Just buy an alpha to start. It'll cost some coin but then you've training and tracking covered. I'd eventually suggest a telemetry collar as well as a backup. Electronics all fail at some point but it's rare they both fail.

To have success it's actually a simple formula. Hunt alot and get your dogs on as many desired critters as possible. Getting them in to productive training on a critter is the tricky part. That's where an old dog can help. The last step is being able to move on when the dog doesn't have the right stuff for you. Being brutally honest helps a lot with this.

[Dan McDonough]

What kind of hunting style interests you most? Do you want to drive around looking for tracks or do you like trekking around on foot with a pack on your back?

Are you likely to be hunting in a group, with a couple of buddies or alone the majority of the time?

[al baldwin]

Find a breeder is is producing early starting pups, most that finish to balanced strike, track & tree dogs. Purchase one of those pups, a couple live traps & have fun. Don/t get discouraged if the first pup does not have what it takes to make a good one. Al

[tgrschank]

I plan on hoofing it with a pack on my back. I've never been much of a road hunter, I still will check the roads when we get snow. I will be alone a bunch while hunting, but we have a buddy or two along with me from time to time.

[oconee]

Some may say I am weak at heart but there is no way I would start from scratcg without an old broke check-dog, electrionics (tracking/training collars) and a well bred pup or two. I know funds are tight and I'm in the same boat but IMO you will spend far more without the lead dog to train both you and your pups. Here is some more good news! No one sells a good broke check-dog thats really worth a crap. The truth is cat hunting is DAMN hard and starting out alone, broke, and inexperienced just lenghtens the odds ten-fold. I hope I'm really pumping you up with all this positive information because you are truly in for some trials and tribulations along you new journy.

I hope none of that came across wrong because I am only trying to prepare you for the mental challenges that will come with this new adventure. My advice is to you is find a cat hunter and be his buddy for a season. Be polite, helpful, and pay attention. Good luck

[Old dog]

some good advice Oconee. also it would help you get invited along if you filled the guys truck up when you went along. I don't agree with no body selling a broke dog worth a crap. you can find a old dog with a couple years left in it or you can certainly flop down the money for a sure enough finished dog. a guy needs to see the dog in action alone before buying or know the man selling the dog. be careful cause a lot of dogs are straight while roaded but may be not so straight when walk hunted or casted. good luck and keep us posted

[LBell]

Ok I have seen this up in a few areas and thought I'd share. Some of the best you need to know info is found in Mike Leonard's cat training tips tin the training section. READ IT. lots of good stuff. As far as choosing a dog goes everyone has there opinion. Bottom line you will have to find what works for you. If you want to start with pups get them from different people so it will give you something to compare. I would say start with 2 not more. Work them together and alone. get a good handle on them. I started out pretty much on my own and I will say cats are easier then bear, but will still your gonna have to want it or in a year you'll be selling your stuff on here. As far as an older dog "broke" dog they are hard to find and the odds would be against you but an old broke down dog with a year or 2 left is a better chance to pan out. If you put the time and effort into pups and hunt them and walk them down a few tracks it will happen. The biggest thing is if one is not working out knowing when to move on to another prospect they all don't turn out. Good luck and don't be to proud to be honest and ask for help, we've all had wrecks and made mistakes and asking can shorten the learning curb. Lance Bell

[Grzyadms4x4]

Those last three post pretty much sum it up.

I hope you can handle failure and frustration and disappointment well because if not we will probably see your stuff for sale on here in a few years.

Old broke dogs of quality go real fast, at least on here. There were a couple a few years back if I remember right that were given away!! You just have to act fast and make sure the person is reputable.

Read Mike's method. Some don't do it because they have dogs to teach their pups but I can't think that it would hurt to do a little even with an old broke dog. Many people have used the same approx. method for a loooong time.

Get ready to have some fun and wear out some boot leather. Be safe and good luck.

[Dan McDonough]

Try to find at least one dog with some border collie in it. It helps greatly to have that big brain around when things get complicated.

Foot hunting is the most fun if you have the time. In that country, there's no use coming in every night so you could stay out for quite some time if you don't have to many things tying you to town. With a solar charger you can read to your hearts content on modern phones to keep from getting board at night.

[northwoods]

All good things coming here man. I started a few years ago and two things i will throw in is 1) Stay away from "started dogs" I am sure there is a bible to be written about dogs people bought that were started. My first three dogs were all "started" and all they were were big wastes of time and disappointment. Unless you personally know and trust the source that is selling or giving you the dog. I don't know anyone that is going to sell a dog they have put time into and that is showing good potential.
2) Spend $35 dollars and buy the book Walk With Wick. I know you are not planning on running coons which he is famous for, but the book really is a tree dog encyclopedia. Every issue I have ran into with dogs, he has an example and an answer for in that book. With him you know for sure you are getting good direction. A lot of people have different opinions and it is hard to decide sometimes. I have stuck to the wick way and it has been very helpful to me. Good luck, and hang in there. Joel

[al baldwin]

All good things coming here man. I started a few years ago and two things i will throw in is 1) Stay away from "started dogs" I am sure there is a bible to be written about dogs people bought that were started. My first three dogs were all "started" and all they were were big wastes of time and disappointment. Unless you personally know and trust the source that is selling or giving you the dog. I don't know anyone that is going to sell a dog they have put time into and that is showing good potential.
2) Spend $35 dollars and buy the book Walk With Wick. I know you are not planning on running coons which he is famous for, but the book really is a tree dog encyclopedia. Every issue I have ran into with dogs, he has an example and an answer for in that book. With him you know for sure you are getting good direction. A lot of people have different opinions and it is hard to decide sometimes. I have stuck to the wick way and it has been very helpful to me. Good luck, and hang in there. Joel

Northwoods that is very good advise when one is starting out with their first hound. Also I am a firm believer, very important to keep young hounds off trash, hounds develop habits, fast and those habits can be very hard to break. My dad did not like hounds, but, the best advise he gave me was, if you can/t hunt a young dog with clean hounds, better to hunt them alone. Al

[pegleg]

And unless you plan on driving somewhere else to hunt remember desert hunting is different. It means more work and time spent by you and your hounds. Its probably good advice to cover as much training and nature walks as you can until the dogs are really handling and mature about nine months old then take a trip to better area run the pups real hard and get as much positive experience for both of you as you can then use it at home.